I did the thing! Your usual Tuesday newsletter is late because I finally opened the doors on Wild Plum Books. What a rush it was to ring up the first sale that wasn’t my own (I mean, I’m moderately worried that I’m simply feeding the habit at this point). It made me feel so tender to be the recipient of that kind of support and excitement. A 7 year old girl shook with joy seeing Matilda, my mom swooned over the cookbooks, a fellow shop owner from down the street ran his hands over the history section that my brilliant husband decided to organize by era (and that I will be promptly renaming the Era’s Tour), a friend snatched up the new Lucy Foley to read poolside and I’ve already placed another order for Sandwich.
Lovely, beautiful friends came by bearing bottles of wine and plum-inspired potted plants and notecards that I will treasure forever. At the end of the day, my kids helped unbox a delivery of stuffed animals because I promised they got first pick and so a unicorn and a Bernese Mountain Dog came with us to Farmstead for steak frites and chocolate cream pie. It was a very, very good day. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, I think I might sleep for a 100 years.
Of course, later that night Nell was in and out of our bed, crying about a scary dream. She let the cats in who jumped on my face and then we woke up to cat poop trekked from the front door through the kitchen. Nell cried again — fat teardrops — when I tried to wrestle a tee shirt over her head for camp, insisting on a dress and I grew frustrated thinking about the drawer full of shirts and shorts that she never, ever wears. Because against the highs of opening the store there’s still life. Life with all of its messy bits.
As we barrel towards July, I’ll find my rhythm at the store and this newsletter will also resume it’s usual rhythm. In the meantime, there’s always The Bear!!
Presumed Innocent is so utterly compelling. Andrew and I are both waiting impatiently for the next episode to drop. Did he kill her?? I need to know! And, yes, it’s about a gruesome murder, but there’s also some very hot flashback sex. Plus, brothers-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard going head to head! Very, very good tv.
Did I already talk about this delight of a novel?? Because I feel like I’ve been wanting to talk about it for forever but was waiting to buy it from myself. A blurb on the back cover calls a national treasure and that is exactly right. Laugh out loud funny and warm and delightfully human, I want to live inside this book all summer long. The way the narrator talks about her kids, both when they were young and now that they are grown is deeply moving. Plus, there’s something quintessential about east coast summers (the book takes place in Cape Cod) with their sand dunes and clam shacks. I’m going to be so sad when it’s over.
As mentioned above, THE BEAR IS BACK!! Season 3 started last night. Who’s excited?! Gimme all of the Jeremy Allen White, please.
These terrific sandals keep selling out. Minimal, strappy, red. Check, check, check.
I don’t know why, but the bookstore makes me want to channel Katharine Hepburn with a pair of wide legged khakis. And no one does pants like Apiece Apart.
I love the way a barrel jean looks — just so cool. This Madewell pair in an excellent ecru shade is perfection. And how cute is this shirt from the Lisa Says Gah collection??
Hilariously, all Andrew wanted for Father’s Day was a 14” dual handled Lodge cast iron pan. And now my belly is thanking me for bestowing that gift upon him. Crispy fingerling potatoes, chicken piccata, charred padron peppers, pork tenderloin. It’s such a workhorse.
My little water bottle isn’t cutting it when I’m at the store all day and I am so thirsty by the time I switch around the closed sign. The girls have adorable Frank Green water bottles — I love them because they are ceramic lined and the straws are stainless steel — and I just ordered myself the big daddy 68oz. Then I took it one step further and ordered an additional silicone mouthpiece so I can eliminate plastic all together.
Such a pretty dress to wear when it’s a thousand degrees outside.
That’s all for now!
You're an inspiration!
Congratulations! (I am right there with you with the messy. Our movers delivered the furniture last, (so it took 4 days of Jenga to get things in the right place before I could really start unpacking) & we still don’t have stairs or a kitchen.)